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EXCURSION 

PLANNED FOR THE 

CITY HISTORY CLUB 

OF 

NEW YORK 

BY 

FRANK BERGEN KELLEY, A. M., Ph. D. 

No. IV— CENTRAL PARK TO VAN CORTLANDT PARK (Revised). 

PRICE, 5 CENTS. 

Hailed on receipt of price by Secretary, City History Club, 

33 W. 44th Street. 



CopyriKhted, 1897, by the City History Club of Neu York. 






'T" HIS first appeared as a " Bicycle Excursion " and may still be taken awheel if one 

does not object to frequent dismounting and following- poor roads between iSoth 
Street and Kingsbridge. 

As most parties prefer to go via the cars or on foot, it has been thought best 
to arrange the Excursion in six sections, each complete in itself. 

When the projected electric line between Ft. George and Kingsbridge is finished 
much walking may be avoided. 

The original Excursion has been thoroughly revised and additional matter 
inserted, although the ground covered remains the same. 

Owing to differences of authorities, several points are open to criticism. The 
writer will be pleased to receive any additions or corrections, especially if authorities 
be quoted. 



EXCURSION No. IV. 

( The figures correspond to those on maps at the er,d.) 



Section I. Upper Central Park and Mount Morris Park. 

Enter Central Park at the "Girls' Gate," io2d Street and 
Fifth Avenue, and follow East Drive to 

1. McGowns Pass Tavern, near the site of the Revolutionary tavern 

where Washington decided to evacuate New York in 1776. The 
old Post Road ran through this path, branching just north, one 
road continuing to Harlem, the other, " Harlem Lane," running 
northwest to meet the Bloomingdale Road. Along this road the 
Americans were pursued by the British, September, 1776. (See 
Club Excursion No. V., with the story of Andrew McGown.) 

Take path on the right to top of hill above Harlem Mere. 
See remains of 

2. Fort Clinton, an American redoubt strengthened by the British, whose 

lines reached the Hudson at io6th Street. See old cannon and 
mortar. This locality is sometimes called Mount St. Vincent from 
the convent formerly here located. 

3. Block House N^o. i, on the rocky bluff opposite " Warriors' Gate " 

(Seventh Avenue), This was one of four forts in 181 2 guarding 
the roads from Hell Gate and the north. (See Lossing's "Field 
Book of the War of 1812," pp. 971-978). 

Go north on Lenox Avenue to 120th Street and east one 
block to 

4. Mount Morris Park, formerly known as Snake Hill, "under whose 

shadow Harlem was built," and where the Indian village of Mus- 
coota was located. Here, in 1776, were American and, later, British 
works to command the Harlem. The Fire Tower is one of the 
last relics of the old Volunteer Fire Department. 

Proceed through the Park to 125th Street, and west to 

St. Nicholas Avenue. 

(Note. — In a cigar store at 264 W. 125th Street, near Eighth 

Avenue, may be seen a wooden statue of Washington which, it is 

claimed, stood on Bowling Green from 1792 until 1843. Day's 

Tavern, where Washington stopped in 1783, was near this corner.) 

3 



Section II. Scene of the Battle of Harlem Heights. 

5. Point of Rocks, 127th Street and Convent Avenue, site of American 

military outlook and redoubts, which extended along the ridge to 
the Hudson River. (See Map No. i.) 

Cross the " Hollow Way " (the valley between " Harlem 
Heights " and " Bloomingdale Heights "j to 

6. Block House No. 3 (War of 1812), (see 2 above), .in Morningside 

Park, at Amsterdam Avenue and 123d Street. 
Go south on Amsterdam Avenue. 

7. Tablet on southeast corner of Columbia University buildings, erected 

by the Empire State Society to commemorate Forts Clinton, Fish 
and Laight, and other works of the War of 181 2. 
Go west on i i6th Street. 

8. Columbia University. See inscription on Library to commemorate 

" King's College," formerly on College Place and Warren Street. 
Go through the grounds and out on the Boulevard. 

9. Tablet, erected by the Sons of the Revolution, on University building, 

near 117th Street, marking the Battle of Harlem Heights, Septem- 
ber 16, 1776. (See vol. 2 of "Historic New York " published by 
Putnam and Prof. Johnston's " Battle of Harlem Heights " pub- 
lished by MacMillan ; Lossing's "Field Book of the Revolution," 
Vol. 2, p. 816 ; Wilson's " Memorial History of New York," Vol. 2 ; 
Stone's "History of New York," chap. VII., and "Memoirs Long 
Island Society," vol. 3. 

10. Grant's Tomb. See Li Hung Chang's trees and bronze memorial to 

Gen. Grant, just north of the Tomb. 

11. Tomb of '' An Amiable C/^//^/" (St. Claire Pollock), buried here in 

1797. It is said that the child lost its life by falling over a cliff near 
this spot. 

12. " The Claremont" is one of the oldest houses in this neighborhood, 

and is said to have been built by a Tory who had to go into exile 
during the War of 181 2. 

See the new Viaduct built to connect with Washington Heights. 
The vicinity of the Fort Lee Ferry was originally known as " Matje 
David's Vly " (valley), where a rude ferry crossed the river. 

Descend the hill and take Amsterdam Avenue car through 

old " Manhattan ville," passing on the right the grounds of the 

Convent of the Sacred Heart. 



Section III. " Carmansville." 

13. Hamilton Grange (141st Street and Convent Avenue, next to the 

church) built by Alexander Hamilton as a country seat (1802) and 
named for his ancestral home. See old engraving of Hamilton in 
vestry room of St. Luke's Church adjoining. The T/u'rteeti (gum) 
Trees planted by Hamilton (or his nephew) in honor of the thirteen 
States are two blocks above. 

Go east on 145th Street to St. Nicholas Avenue (which 
runs a little west of the Boston and Albany Post Road laid out 
while Benjamin Franklin was Postmaster-General of the Col- 
onies). " Breakneck Hill " (now almost level) was about r47th 
Street. Follow St. Nicholas Avenue to I52d Street. 

14. Ninth Milestone {\76c1) in a private yard on the north side of i52d 

Street between St. Nicholas and Amsterdam Avenues. 
Go west to Broadway, then north. 
(The trip to Jeffrey's Hook and Fort Washington (Section 
IV) can be made with very little walking by taking the train from 
the foot of I52d Street to the next station. As trains run in- 
frequently, secure a time-table of the Hudson River Railroad, 30th 
Street to Spuyten Duyvil.) 

15. Tablet, representing Revolutionary works, erected by the Sons of the 

Revolution, in cemetery wall, west side of Broadway, between 
I52d and 153d Streets. Some claim this as the proper site of the 
Battle of Harlem Heights (see 9). 

16. Audubon House, at the southwest corner of Audubon Park (foot of 

155th Street) was the home of the great naturalist. 

A sharp fight took place in this locality at the time of the cap- 
ture of Fort Washington. 

Go east on 155th Street, passing Audubon's monument. 

17. Trinity Cemetery, within which may be seen the tombs of General 

Dix, Philip Livingston, J. J. Astor. Jumel and other distinguished 
men; also a cenotaph to IVesident Monroe, whose body was re- 
moved to Virginia in 1858. 

18. T/ie Mansell House (built 1796) is near 157th Street on Amsterdam 

Avenue and was once occupied by O'Donnell, the Irish patriot. 

19. The Roger Morris (Jumel) Mansion, i6ist Street, near Edgecombe 

Avenue, built in 1758 by Colonel Roger Morris, of the British 
Army; occupied by Washington in 1776 and later bv Knvphausen ; 

5 



owned since the Revolution by Stephen Jumel (whose widow here 
married Aaron Burr in 1834), John Jacob Astor and General F. P. 
Earle. The house commands a fine view of the city below and of 
the upper Harlem. See the tablet erected by the Daughters of the 
American Revolution. 

Southwest of the grounds, at 159th Street, are the historic 
" Napo/eon irees " {Egypt'icin cyi>resses) sent to Bonaparte in 181 5 
by the Sultan of Egypt and given by him to Jumel, who set them in 
a circle around an artificial fish pond. Half of the circle is com- 
plete. 

On the edge of the cliff at 1 58th Street, overlooking the Speed- 
way, is a great hole in the rocks, said to have been a favorite Indian 
resort. 

North of the Jumel Mansion, on i62d Street, is a rock where 
old inhabitants say Fitz Green Halleck composed his poem " Marco 
Bozzaris." 

Take Amsterdam Avenue car to 175th Street, or the more 

romantic " Aqueduct Path," running under the cliffs along the 

Harlem to High Bridge This walk may be reached from 

the Speedway at 155th Street or by several short cuts from 

Edgecombe Avenue east. 

Section IV. Washington Heights. 

20. H/^/i Bridge, over which is conducted the aqueduct of the first Croton 

water supply of New York (1842). See Morris Heights (just below 
New York University), where Fort No. VIII was located in the 
Revolution, and traces of which can still be seen. 

Go west on i8ist Street to Fort Washington Avenue. 

21. Fort Washington, a stronghold of the Revolution, was built by 

Colonel Rufus Putnam. It was captured by the British November 
16, 1776, and afterward called Fort Knyphausen. This was one of 
the highest points of land on Manhattan, about i8ist-i83d Streets. 
See one of the earth bastions in the James Gordon Bennett property 
1 50 yards west of the road. It has been proposed to erect an arch to 
commemorate the brave defence. (See memoirs of the Long Island 
Society, Vol. 3, and Lossing's " Revolution," Vol. 2, pp. 816-827.) 

(Note. — No. 22 may be omitted by pedestrians, it being nearly 
three-fourths of a mile distant.) 

22. Fort Tryon was located just north, near the observatory, about 196th 

Street. Traces of a breastwork may be seen at the summer house 
below. 

6 



Descend from Fort Washington through the fields and via Ben- 
nett Lane to Boulevard Lafayette (the " French Boulevard "), and 
go south to the entrance to Fort Washington Park. Follow the 
path over the bridge, crossing the deep cutting of the " Dolly Var- 
den " Railroad, the earliest line of the New York Central to enter 
the city, over which a few passenger trains and many freight trains 
still pass. 

23. Sunset Lane meets this path from the south just before it crosses the 

bridge. Cedar Point is the projection into the Hudson toward 
the north. A fine view may be obtained from here. 

After crossing the bridge, turn up the side path to the left 
and on the top of the hill see the 

24. Rifle Pits used in the Revolution ; the breastworks are still very 

perceptible. 

At a stone's throw to the southwest is a curious circular hole 
in a flat rock, commonly called an Indian " pot-hole," but said to 
have been used to support a mast from which was suspended a 
telegraph wire to the New Jersey shore before the submarine cable 
was perfected. 

25. Jeffrey s Hook, now known as Fort Washington Point, was the place 

from which sunken ships and chains were suspended across the 
Hudson to check the British fleet. Here Washington crossed to 
Fort Lee, which is situated nearly opposite on the Palisades. 

Take a path south to the Fort Washington railroad 
station where trains may be taken to 30th Street ; or one may 
ascend " Depot Lane " and go east to Amsterdam Avenue. 
Take Amsterdam Avenue car to Fort (ieorge. 

Section V. Fort George and Inwood to Kingsbridge. 

26. Fort George, originally " Laurel Hill," a fortification to help defend 

Washington Heights. The fort was taken November i6th, in the 
general attack on Fort Washington, the American Colonel Baxter 
being killed. Traces of the fort remained until 1890. See relics in 
the Fort George Casino. 

The Ele7>enth Milestone is at *' Fort Wendell." Near the north 
entrance of the Fort George Casino, and below the mock fortifica- 
tion, is a deep opening in the rock through which one could formerly 
go for several hundred feet. East of Amsterdam Avenue, opposite 
193d Street, a breastwork with embrasures may still be seen. 

Descend the hill to the Dyckman Meadorvs once owned by 
7 



a family of that name. Just north of " Sherman's Creek " is an 
Indian shell heap from which many relics have been unearthed. 
Follow " Dyckman Street " to Kingsbridge Road. At about 
2ioth Street see 

27. The " Dyckman House,'' over 100 years old. 

In a stone wall nearby, on the west side of the street, is the 12th 
Milestone. 

Take a lane to the right, passing a little graveyard and 
see 

28. The " Nagle" ox'' Century House " (date 1736) near the Harlem, close 

to which ran the Post Road. 

Note. — A side trip to the northwest end of the island near 
the outlet of Spuyten Duyvil Creek (the origin of the name is ex- 
plained by Diedrich Knickerbocker) brings one to an old farm 
house built many years ago. Nearby is the " Cold Spring," fre- 
quented by both Indians and whites for hundreds of years. Just 
south of it is an Indian shell heap and in holes in the rocks above 
were discovered many Indian relics and skeletons by City Engineer 
Alexander Chenoweth. Part of the collection is on exhibition in the 
Natural History Museum. The Indian name of this locality (includ- 
ing Spuyten Duyvil) was " Shorackappock " or " the fire place," sig- 
nificant of the tribal meetings held here. It is supposed that Henry 
Hudson anchored off shore at the mouth of the creek and traded 
with the natives. 

Go back to Kingsbridge Road (now called Broad wav) and 

continue north, crossing the Ship Canal and passing 

29. Farmer s or Dyckman Bridge built in the arly part of the iSth Cen- 

tury to avoid the toll on the King's Bridge. 

30. King's Bridge was built about 1693 by Frederick Philipse and is the 

oldest bridge across the Harlem. 

Washington retreated across it in 1776 and it was a center of mili- 
tary movements during the Revolution. 

Cock Hill Fort commanded it from the northern end of Manhattan 
and a line of forts from the mainland. 

Section VI. Kingsbridge .'vnd Van Cortlandt Park. 

(Trains may be taken from the Grand Central Station or 
via the Sixth and Ninth Avenue Elevated Railroad and the 
Putnam County Railroad direct to Kingsbridge station.) 



31. Fort Independence was on Tetar (Tetarcl) Hill just north of the rail- 

road station. In 1772 it was the property of General Montgomery. 
On the grounds of Mr. Giles may be seen one of the eighteen 
cannon unearthed in 1853. Revolutionary buttons and bullets are 
frequently found. 

32. Papirinim, the name of the little island at Kingsbridge, is one of sev- 

eral Indian names attached to this locality. 

33. The McComb House, at the turn in Broadway, is on the site and may 

be a part of the ancient tavern where Washington stopped in 1776. 
One of its early owners, Alexander McComb, built McComb's Dam 
(now Central) Bridge in 1799. 

Take train or follow Broadway to Van Cortlandt Park 

part of " Colendonck," later the PJnlipse or Vati Corilandt 

Manor. 

34. Va7i Cortlandt Matiszon, built 1748 by Frederick Van Cortlandt and 

now owned by New York City. It was one of Washington's head- 
quarters and is fitted up as a museum by the Colonial Dames. 
(Open daily to the public from 10 to 5.) The official guide-book 
contains a complete history of the house and the estate. The old 
mill was built by Philipse long before the Revolution. Tippett' s 
Brook received its name from an early owner of the property. 

35. Vault Hill, just northeast, contains the remains of the Van Cortlandt 

family. Here were concealed for a time the public records of New- 
York City, and on this hill in 1781 camp tires were lighted to deceive 
the British before the Yorktown campaign. The neighborhood 
abounds in Indian relics. 

36. Itidian Field or\ the old " Miw Square Road" at Woodlawn Heights 

was the scene in 1778 of a battle in which a number of Stock- 
bridge, Conn., Indians were killed, the remains of eighteen being 
here buried. 

. Note. — Two old trees near Riverdale Avenue are of special 
interest. "Washington's Chestnut," said to be 400-500 years old, 
is near Valentine's Lane ; the " Cow Boys' Oak," near the brick 
school house at Hudson Park, under which many victims were 
hanged during the Revolution. 

'' Font Hill" or "Forrest's Castle," once the property of the 
great actor, is in the grounds of the Convent of Mt. .St. \'inctnt. 



OBJECT.—" The City History Club has for its object the study of 
the history of the City of New York, in the hope of awakening an interest 
in its traditions and in the possibilities of its future, such educational work 
being for the improvement, uplifting and civic betterment of the com- 
munity." 

HISTORICAL EXCURSIONS.— The Club is prepared to furnish a 
competent guide to points of historic interest. 

LANTERN SLIDES AND LECTURES.— Slides illustrating City His- 
tory may be hired at $2 per set, and Lecturers may be secured on appli- 
cation to the Corresponding Secretary'. 

PUBLICATIONS.— Syllabus of a Course of Study on the History of 
New York with suggestive questions on the Dutch Period. lo cents. 

Bibliography of the Dutch Period. lo cents. 

Syllabus of the English and Revolutionary Periods. lo cents. Set of 
above three, 25 cents. 

City History Leaflet No. i,"An Early Excise Law," The Currency 
of New Amsterdam " (translations of early Dutch laws). 5 cents. 

" Graphic Views of Government " (to illustrate the relations of our 
National, State and City governments). 5 cents. 

City History Club Map of New York in the English Period. 5 cents. 

Historical -Excursions. (5 cents each.) 

No. I. City Hall and historical sites between Chambers and Wall 
Streets. (In preparation.) 

No. H. Old Greenwich Village. (In preparation.) 

No. III. The Bowery and Stuyvesant's Home. (In preparation.) 

No. IV. Central Park to Van Cortlandt Park. (Revised with Maps.) 

No. V. (Bicycle Excursion No. II.) McGown's Pass and upper Central 
Park. 

No. VI. Fraunces' Tavern. (Illustrated.) 

No. VII. Dutch New York, sites below Wall Street. (2 maps.) A 
set of all the above publications will be mailed to any address on receipt 
of 50 cents. 

Club Game, 30 cents. 

ILLUSTRATIONS.-The Club publishes 45 small ])ictures of the 
famous men, buildings and historic events of local history. These are 
sold for 25 cents per set. 

Club Song, 35 cents. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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